Apparatus for use with packing machines for feeding and adjusting cigarettes



APPARATUS FOR USE WITH PACKING MACHINESv FOR FEEDING AND ADJUSTING CIGARETTES Filed March 26, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet l June 9, 1931-. A RIT'SCHE '1,809,219

fifa?- ny,

June 9, 1931.

A. RITSCHER APPARATUS FOR USE WITH PACKING MACHINES l FOR FEEDING AND ADJUSTING CIGARETTES Filed March 26, 1950 Fl'g. 4.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTR: @XJ6/Z3 hm 5/I A. RITSCHER APPARATUS FOR USE WITH PACKING MACHINES Filed March 26, 1930 FOR FEEDING AND ADJUSTING CIGARETTES v June 9, 1931.

A. RITSCHER APPARATUS FOR USE WITH PACKING MACHINES FOR FEEDING AND ADJUSTING GIGARETTES Filed March 26, 1950 June 9, 1931.

` 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 III-lull] Patented June v9, 1931l Y UNED STATES;

ARTHUR iarrscrinn, or nREsn'EN-LAUBEGAST, GERMANY, `Assieivoit` To UNITED CIGARETTE MACHINE COMPANY, AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, or* Nninisn'iiiv,` Aeiniiiviei\ir ArrARArUs non Usi: Wirt-i r-AcKiiie'MAciiINnsroit manine AND An'JUsrINe i. fcIeARErrEs Application mea March 2e, i930, serial No. escasa-aria meermany vivtarch aa, 1929.

ln rod cigarette machines for the production of cigarettes with letteringV or with tips,`V

it is customary to apply ythev printing or the tipping material to the` cigarette paper ,in such a way that two Atips or letteringsare always in juxtaposition, so that, when the cigarette is4 cut` through, the knife -p-asses through the tipping material. extending over two cigarettes, or, if there are vno tips, the knife passes between the two letterings `applied opposite each other. The-result of-this is that'tlie .seam on points in a diferentdirection, according to ywhether it is a question of the first or the second `of two consecutive cigarettes, -be-fV cause, the method of manufacture resulting in two cigarettes, always being `joined at their tips, the second cigarette in 'each case `must necessarilybe reversed, in order that the tips shall all be arranged in the saine directioni Now, `it has recently been suggested that i while conveying the cigarettes vto the packing machine, the cigarettes having their lettering downward, for example with the seam upwards, should befturned up byy engaging a finger-,in the seain,which finger then either turns the cigarette directly Aor Lonly begins to turn it, or releases a relay or the'like which in its turn operates a ftiirnin'g device.

lf, for example, the cigarettes pass before the finger in any fashi'on,`their seam pointing in Adifferent directions, lit is therefore evident that the finger can only engage those cigarettes which, when moving forward have the front edge of the paper overlap to 'the fore, iwhereas of course, those cigarettes in' respect of which theL said'front edge points backwards in relation to 'the direction'of movement, pass the finger and vare not acted upon by it.

The present invention purports to remedyv this disadvantage. VTo this effect,lvthe ap-Y paratus Vin cigaretterod machines is'used,

on separate conveyor bands or conveyed to separate compartments, in order that one' of the backv of the cigarettes f y Fig. 4t illustrates tion, :be brought Ainto the same .direction as Y "righted -as`it should be.

At the same time, care must be taken thatV 'the cigarettes conveyed from both "sides on to the common band lie insuch amanner Ithat the beginning of the lettering can al- `ways be read.` This, according to the i-nvention, is obtained by designing a device where- .by the cigarettes, accordingto whether they are conveyed from one side or from the other, are, while-being adjusted into the ktilted-,position in which theylie in packing, turned in one direction or the other.

The drawings illustrate one invention rbly way of example, viz. f

n Fig. l is a part of aci'garette--rod,

and across section ofsame.

Fig. 2 shows two cigarettc'sfwhich were',V

immediatelyadjacentV in the rod and have now vbeen cut, and also the cross section-of I Saillie. f

ranged in thebox. p Y i Y diagr'ainmatically in plan n Y showing a number ofl cigarettes connected together ,c

forindfof i the conveying of the cigarettes to the pack:

ing machine. y

Fig'. -5 is a diagrammatic:elevation ofthe above.

, 6 illustrates theV apparatus 'fortiltq Y ingv the cigarettes conveyed fromene lside andv y Fig. 7 the apparatus for tiltingl thecigarettes conveyed from the other'side.

Fig. 8- shows another form of the invention forY tilting the cigarettes and `whereby two cigarettes which, when in the, rod'are connected by their tips, are Ydeposited Fig. V9 is "a front viewofFig. 8. y, As can be seen from Fig. l, the cigarette rod consists of an endless tube 2 filled with Y tobacco and provided at definite intervals l with tipping material 3, the rodv also bearing Y directed in opposite directions.

lettering 4. The tipping material 3 is wide enough to correspond to two cigarettes and the letterings of two adjacent cigarettes are The rod is cut through the place marked by a dotted line 5, and the result is the two cigarettes 6 and 7 as shown in Fig. 2. As the seam in the rod, as shown in Fig.,1 of course runs throughout in the same'direction on the back, (this can be seen in the sectional view) therefore, as can be seen in the sectional view corresponding to Fig. 2, cigarette having been turned through 1800, the seam is bound to point in a different direct-ion, that is to say, in the case of cigarette 6 as can be seen from the cross section, the front edge ofthe seam points to the right, while in cigarette 7 on the contrary it points to the left. If, therefore, the cigarettes 6 and 7 are fed in any fashion, the finger which, designed in the usual way and engaging the cigarette, re-

verses, that is to say, turns upwards the cigarettes .with downward pointing lettering, only engages those seams the front edge of the overlapping part which faces the finger. In accordance with the invention the two kinds of cigarettes are therefore handled separately. Moreover, these two kinds of cigarettes as already stated are already separated automatically by the cigarette rod machine, and in accordance with the invention, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4, the cigarettes of one kind being conveyed toa common conveyor band by conveying devices 8 running from left to right, and the other kind of cigarette by conveying devices 9 running from right to left. Each of the conveyingy devices 8 and 9 has its own turning device with finger, as can be seen from the diagrammatic Fig. 5, 11 being the finger of conveying devices 8 and pointing in a direction opposite to that of the finger 12 belonging to the conveying device 9. All cig-y arettes are therefore turned into the correct Aso position and can be conveyed in that position to the common conveying device 10.

Cigarette-turning devices having fingers engaging the seam of the cigarettes lying in an incorrect position with the seam upward are fully disclosed in U. Si. patent applications Serial Nos. 376,068 and 472,444 and in the U. S. Patent No. 1,777 ,361 so that a further description ofthe functions and operation of the members 11 and 12 seem unnecessary.

As is well known, cigarettes which are flattened, are placed in the boxes slantwise and they must be arranged as shown in Fig. 3 in such a way that the beginning of the lettering, that is to say, the first letters, can be read. In order to achieve this, the usual devices for pivoting the cigarettes intoV the tilted position are also fitted in the conveying devices 8 and 9. These devices however,

as shown in Figs 6 and 7 are so designed' placed. Vxhile the cigarettes are still in the recesses of the carriers 13 they run over a rail 14 which is arranged between two correlated chains of each conveying device.

rI`he parts of the guide rail which come in contact with the cigarettes are placed somewhat higher than the bottom of the recesses so that the cigarettes in the recesses are moved along over the rail 14, this results in Jfriction on rail 14, the cigarettes are held back at their lower end whilst the upper part of the recesses comes into contact with the higher parts of the cigarettes and inclincs these somewhat as shown in Fig. 1.

The cigarettes are carried away by the chain recesses 13 on to an adjusting bar 15 which has a rough surface 16. In this connection the cigarettes are further raised through the friction against the surface on which they rest and the cigarettes are then inclined in such a way that they engage the adjusting bar 15 on the one hand and also a further bar or'cover rail 17 arranged above the cigarette path. The cover rail 17 preventing the cigarettes from assuming too inclined a position.

rlhe rail 17 can be adjusted vertically by means of a set screw 18. On the machine frame there is a lever 20 connected at 19 and this lever in twin is connected to a second lever 22 by means of a pin 21, so that the two parts 2O and 22, form, so to speak, a double pendulum. lVhile the cigarettes are pushed forward between the rails 15 and 17 the part 2O assumes a position behind or on the particular cigarette which has been pushed forward by the relative chain link 13 and keeps it from falling back. The cigarette 26 delivered by the chain links 13 pushes the preceding cigarettes further onwards, so

that they arrive under part 22 of the pendulum, which secures the collected cigarettes.

Above the conveying path there is a chain 23a fitted with carriers 23, which runs over the chain roller 25. The carriers 23 place themselves against the batch of cigarettes conveyed previously and carry same along with them; they convey them between the rail 24 and the rail 15 towards the place where packing is effected.

The cigarettes are therefore subjected inA 1 fconveyor band ind-icatedqinFig-r4'. The said.

.with holdingrecesses 26a.

l however, there is no raillli as in Fig. 6; ac-

tually the cigarettes areconveyed between a .fi-Xed Vguiding surface y27EL which is placed clockwise. This however is. not .possible vif a y'conveying chain, which essentially. *conn vthe .apparatus yshown in Fig. 6. is. also to'. be used for the cigarettes Vfed from thel right. That is :why the tilting device vsl-iown-iiii Fig. 7 :has been provided. Here y'the conveying chains 9 of which, as is known, a pair'always run neXt .to each other,are equally provided ln that device,

approximately level with ythe bottom .of the sists of links a made inthe ordinary way and connected together by joints.v f

At the @naar the @haii-rpath, that is. to

say, attlie point .where itmoves. downwards randout of the feed path iof the cigarettes, la conveying .plate P is connected to itand the recesses and a Vcover rail-28,fthe position of which can also be adjusted by means -ofza set screw 29.y The cover; raily 28 has'` an'inasin the casein rail 28.

The cigarettes inthisjcase also are'pushed cigarettes are lfirst laid down Viaton this plate a pawl b arrangedgon its upper sidepand held down against `this plate "by mcansof the weak holding 'spring c.y As

soon asthel cigarettes lieon the platel?, the l rear edge al of the plate ofn vthe lchain links a.facts'.upon the cigarette and inclines it, as

.shown in the case of the'cigaretteil; inthe r-drawings,and in such aL mannerthat theend which comes first in the conveying. device is -raised.. During their further VVprogress the forward by the carriers '32 in the guidel formed between the paths 27a and 81 on the d gk one hand and 28 `on the other, directlythe recesses 2oa release them. By gliding through the oblique guide the'cigarettes are raised edge first. Therefore in this instance lalso they are turned clockwise and are formed into a row as shown in Fig. 7. The cigarettes thus upraised and righted properly are pushed into layers bythejcarrier23 c1532 from left and' from right? on the common certain. disadvantage in so far vthatwhile they are beingV conveyed in thevunstable oblique position, the cigarettes immediately infront of the carrier arein a more inclined .position than the other cigarettes of the'roiv conci'garettes then encounter afnuinber'of'pawls orftlie like e arranged as penduluin's.v These pawls or peiidulums hold the cigarettesinclined and the latter push them out of the nath 4as is shown in Fig. 8 in the case of the firstpawl. Directly the requirednumbcr of `cigarettes is collected on the plate P, these cigarettes'are conveyed further on bya carrier 7L, which carrier'is tted to an upper toV conveying chain 71,1.' The carrier L conveys Vthe cigarettes further on to the conveying device m servingv forv the transversal transy port', On this path the cigarettes are held by they combs 7, the teeth vof which consist of very light steel leafsprings g which, when the cigarettes pass through, assumer the bent shape 'sho-wn for the `middle teethand' cease" VK'to be inclined straight towards the .oncoinin g cigarettes-which is the positiony shown for cerned,nso..that therefore all thercigarettes are not in the same position, andwhen they are laid yinto'the box, diiiiculties :arise For thatreason, one can adopt instead-,of theapA paratus shown in Fig.

theiirst and last tooth. The springs must be very weak so as not to compress or damage the cigarettes. `Finally the cigarettes arrive.

under a brush ,.whi'ch is placedabovethe transverse conveying device m, and cannow be conveyed by the llatter further on intothe boXesfin order toibe deposited there. I

, Naturally, the device'canalso/.be designed on other lines. In particular the cigarettes vcan be held during their progressbyotl'ier theapparatus as Figs.l 8 and"9,-in vwhich Vfor they purpose of by a Weak holding spring, on the flatfconvey rfrom the path ofy the cigarettes, depressesthe rear end vof the cigarette in ytheconveying `device,so that it is raised with'the front end in the conveying devicewhereupon; the cigupraising the cigarettes yconveyed upper edge .nrsty-the said cigarettesareheld downV meansV also. One vcould-.therefore arrange brush-like or pawl-like devices or thev like instead of the combs f, g. Y

V'lhe'invention moreover is not confinedto the special means for'raising the cigarettes or' for turning the cigarettes into the proper position. Infact,inadditionto the devices described, other known or new devicestiin-y arettes secured in'that position bynneansof` ther along.

pawls, springs or the like are-conveyedfur- In the form of the invention Iin accordance "with Figs. 8v and 9,-thecigarettes'are fed on ingiapparatus, each one beingconnec'te'd'and tended for 'that purpose can alsobe used.

y k1. Apparatus for adjustably-feeding cig-k arettes lfrein-a'k cigarette-making machine to apackingy machine comprising lin combina tion with the conveyor running from they cigarette-making machine to the packing machine two conveying ineans arranged on` opposite sides 4of said conveyor, and twoadjustlll cooperating with one of said conveying means and including means adapted to engage the seam of the cigarettes lying with the seam upwards for tilting them.`

2. Ap arat'us for adjustably feeding cigarettes 'rom cigarette-making machine to a packing machine comprising in combination With the conveyor running from the cigarette-making lmachine to the packing machine two conveying means arranged on opposite sides of said conveyor, and'two adjusting apparatus, each one being connected and cooperating with one of said conveying means and including means adapted to engage the seam of the cigarettes lying with the seam upwards for tilting them in the same direction of rotation. l

3. Apparatus according to claim l, in which one of said adjusting apparatus comprises a rough base, and carriersengaging the cigarettes on a point above said base and conveying them thereover, thereby producing a torque tending to raise one side of the cigarettes.

prises a rough base, and carriers engaging the cigarettes on a point above said base and conveying them thereover, thereby producing a torque tending to raise one side of the cigarettes; in combination with a cover bar arranged above said rough base and limiting the tilt ofthe cigarettes.

6. Apparatus according to claim l, in which one of said adjusting apparatus comprises a rough base, and carriers engaging the cigarettes on a point above said base and conveying them thereover, thereby producing a torque tending to raise one side of the cigarettes; in combination with a cover bar arranged above said rough base and limiting the tilt of the cigarettes, two levers also arranged above said'base pivotally connected with each other and adapted to hold a definit'e number of cigarettes, and a conveying tif.)

arranged above said rough base and limiting lthe tilt ofthe cigarettes, two levers also arranged above said base pivotally connected with each other and adapted to hold a definite number of cigarettes, a conveying member moving along said cover bar, and stops arranged on and moving with said conveying member and adapted alternately to seize said cigarettes held by said levers.

8. Apparatus according to claim l, in which one of said adjusting apparatus comprises a slanting upward-directed guide guiding the upward edge of the cigarettes va conveying path forming a continuation of said chain; a spring holding the cigarettes down on said path; raisedv rear walls on said links adapted to depress the rea-r side of the cigarettes passing from the links to the conveying path, thereby raising their front sides in relation to the direction of feed; and means for securing the cigarettes when further conveyed in that position arranged along and above said path.

10. Apparatus for adjustably feeding cigarettes'from a cigarette-making machine to a packing machine comprising in combination with the conveyor running from the cigarette-making machine to the packing machine, conveying means arranged on one side of said conveyor and consisting of a chain composed of links for holding the cigarettes; a conveying path forming a continuation of said chain; a spring holding the cigarettes down on said path; raised rear walls on said links adapted to depress the rear side of the cigarettes passing from the links to the path, thereby raising their front sides in relation to the direction of feed; and pendulumlike arranged pawls mounted along and above said path and securing the cigarettes in that position when further conveyed.

11. Apparatus for adjustably feeding cigarettes from a cigarette-making machine to a packing machine comprising in combination with the conveyor running from the cigarette-making machine t`o the packing machine, conveying means arranged on one side o-f said conveyor and consisting of a chain composed of links for holding the cigarettes; a conveying path forming a continuation of said chain; a spring holding the cigarettes down on said path; raised rear walls on said links adapted to depress the rear side of the cigarettes passing Vfrom the links to the path, thereby raising their front sides in relation to the direction of feed; pendulum-like arranged pawls mounted along and above said path and securing the MN A 

